Market Trends

The long-term trend in vehicle cycling for commercial fleets has been a gradual increase in vehicle service lives. An increasing number of companies cut costs by extending vehicle replacement cycles so cash flow can be diverted to other expenditures. When extending vehicle cycles, the most significant (and uncertain) expense is the impact on the maintenance budget. Another argument against extended replacement cycling, albeit less vocalized, is the impact on corporate sustainability. READ MORE

Protecting vehicle assets from vandalism and theft is a growing problem for many fleets.Industrywide, these thefts run the gamut from catalytic converters, tailgates, and spare tires, all the way to the vehicle itself. As fuel prices increase, fuel theft becomes more common, especially fuel siphoning. Trucks parked overnight are found the next day with holes in the fuel tanks to steal the drained fuel. Here's what companies need to do to secure unattended vehicles. READ MORE

Nowadays, OEMs introduce new models throughout the calendar-year. For many fleet managers, the staggered release of new models complicates fleet planning and the ordering process. Some model lines may have variable final order and startup dates due to muttiple plant assignments and model configurations. Fleet-minded OEMs have been terrific partners to fleets and, together, there should be a way to mitigate the impact of staggered production schedules for their largest customers. READ MORE

For the past three years, everyone has been a remarketing genius. The low inventory of used vehicles in the wholesale market helped inflate resale values by about 10 percent. However, as greater volumes of used vehicles begin to enter the wholesale market, vehicle supply will start to meet buyer demand, which will put downward pressure on resale values. In many ways, the new used-vehicle market will demand returning to the basics, namely recognizing the seasonality of the used-vehicle market. READ MORE

Even with senior management support, implementing a green fleet sustainability program is not for the faint-hearted. Inevitably, there will be pushback from all sides, which, at times, can seem overwhelming. A fleet manager’s mettle will be tested, but there are 13 traits that will help you be successful. READ MORE

Last August, the IRS announced areas it will prioritize for audits in 2014, one of which is fringe benefits, especially the personal use of company vehicles. Managing personal-use compliance is a headache. It is also expensive, with internal costs ranging from $35 to $75 per year per vehicle. Here's what you need to do to be prepared should your friendly IRS agent come knocking on your front door.
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Calendar-years 2014 and 2015 will be pivotal years for truck fleet management due to the discontinuation of long-time commercial vehicles and the all-new replacement models and upfit packages entering the market. This is prompting vehicle and equipment specification revisions from the perspective of fleet efficiencies and driver satisfaction. Here are the Top 12 trends. READ MORE

When selling out-of-service fleet vehicles to employees, companies need to ensure fleet policy is uniformly applied — without exception — and that all buyers are treated uniformly and consistently. If you are involved in individual price negotiations, it is prudent to document the sales process. Auditors want to ensure that policy is being enforced uniformly and consistently throughout the organization. Here's what you need to do to ensure you sail through an internal audit with flying colors. READ MORE

Many fleet vehicles require specialized synthetic motor oil, special coolant fluids, filters, OEM-manufactured spare parts, and strict adherence to manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedules to guarantee new-vehicle warranty coverage. The OEMs have become more stringent in requiring adherence to their maintenance service recommendations for a vehicle to remain eligible for new-vehicle warranty coverage. READ MORE

If you asked fleet managers what the industry average is for personal use of company vehicles, most would say it is approximately 15-18 percent. But, is it? Most of us will agree that some drivers fudge their personal-use mileage, but no one knows by how much. There is a growing suspicion that personal-use mileage is far greater — perhaps substantially greater — than what the industry accepts as conventional wisdom.
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The best way to motivate employees to embrace sustainability initiatives is to link them to either the company’s bottom line or to the driver’s own personal benefits. The danger to corporate green edicts that don’t make this connection is that they sometimes backfire into driver disinterest. READ MORE

All OEMs have been proactive in providing order-to-delivery (OTD) status updates on fleet vehicles in transit. In addition, fleet management companies have launched a multitude of enhancements to their abilities to track OTD for ordered fleet units. However, there is still much more that can be done. READ MORE

The FMCSA has proposed eliminating the requirement that pre- and post-trip driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) be filed with the FMCSA when no defects are identified. There are concerns voiced by some fleet managers about the unintended consequences of this proposal, especially from a safety and operational perspective. READ MORE

The larger the vehicle, the greater the emissions. The more vehicles there are in a fleet, the greater the cumulative emissions. In every fleet operation, you will find employees driving larger-than-needed vehicles to fulfill the fleet application. READ MORE

The “Industrial Internet,” a term coined by GE, refers to the integration of a variety of complex pieces of machinery, such as vehicle fleets, with networked sensors and software. Other companies, such as Cisco, similarly believe this convergence of machine connectivity remotely generating actionable data via the Internet will change the way we work, ushering in a new era of innovation in fleet management.
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Fleet managers have to deal with other department managers who may not be team players or who have egos the size of a Class 8 truck. As a result, there are the inevitable fleet-related interdepartmental conflicts, typically driven by the challenge of balancing HR/driver requirements versus finance/accounting department requirements, which are often at odds with one another. Some criticize this involvement of “non-fleet” managers, rather than seeking ways to partner with them. READ MORE

Fleet management metrics are not a new phenomenon, but has gained increased emphasis in recent years. Senior management and sourcing groups are demanding the use of metrics to measure the performance of the fleet and its suppliers. In addition, tight budgets and high expectations by management make metrics a crucial element to maintaining a cost-efficient fleet. READ MORE

Commercial fleets began a widespread migration to four-cylinder engines and downsizing to a smaller class segment of vehicles in 2005. As a result, fuel costs and depreciation, the two largest fleet expenses, have been lowered by smaller displacement engines and vehicle segment downsizing. This has caused the breakeven point of a company-provided vehicle to shift downward, both in terms of minimum monthly miles and total costs, incrasing the competitiveness against reimbursement. READ MORE

Despite a few negative trends, the 2013 calendar-year, on the whole, promises to be a good one for the commercial fleet management industry. Here what I foresee for the balance of the calendar-year. READ MORE

Bobit Business Media, in partnership with the publisher of Fleet Europe magazine, Nexus Communication, is launching the all-new Global Fleet Management Conference to be held Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2013 in Phoenix. The idea of a global fleet conference has resonated with fleet managers of the world’s largest multinational organizations. We have assembled some of the brightest minds in fleet management in both North America and Europe to help develop the agenda for this all-new conference. READ MORE

A growing number of fleets contend that Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) program is in need of substantial improvement. Currently, a fleet’s score in the CSA safety monitoring system is based on all fleet-involved crashes, including those that the company’s driver did not cause and could not reasonably have prevented. This scoring criteria is contrary to accepted industry standards and, in the long run, will undermine the validity of the CSA program in the eyes of covered fleets.
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In Europe, they are asking the question: What is the next evolution of fleet management? A growing number of European fleet professionals believe the concept of “mobility management” will transform the concept of fleet management. They foresee an industry-wide move away from traditional fleet management to mobility management. But, what exactly does this mean?
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When you electronically buy an airline ticket, you do so through an electronic hub, such as Egencia. When realtors electronically list homes for sale, they use a multiple listing service for all other realtors to simultaneously see the property listing. Many see comparable change occurring for the remarketing of vehicles in the wholesale market. The consensus among remarketers is not “if” this will occur, but “when.” And, just as important, most see it happening sooner, rather than later READ MORE

Significant dates in the history of fleet management, which ushered the start of profound change in the industry, include: Oct. 16, 1973 - The first OPEC oil embargo, which completely altered the types of vehicles driven by fleets and August 12, 1981 - IBM’s launch of its first desktop computer, which expanded computerization beyond the IT department to the desktop of every fleet manager. In future years, a new milestone date will be recognized - June 29, 2007.
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